[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2830-2831]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         FAIR MINIMUM WAGE ACT

  (Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CICILLINE. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of raising the 
minimum wage and passing H.R. 1010, the Fair Minimum Wage Act, which 
would give approximately 28 million Americans an overdue pay raise, 
promote economic growth, and strengthen the middle class.
  In America, if you work hard and play by the rules, you should be 
able to

[[Page 2831]]

provide for your family and provide them with a decent quality of life. 
But for about 4.6 million Americans living in poverty, this is not the 
case.
  It has been 5 years since those working for the minimum wage have 
seen an increase in the minimum wage and, according to one study, the 
minimum wage today is worth $2 less than in 1968. This is shameful, and 
we have the responsibility to address growing income inequality by 
increasing the minimum wage immediately.
  Unfortunately, some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle 
oppose this commonsense legislation, arguing that it will hurt jobs. 
But as The New York Times noted this past weekend, this position is 
contrary to decades of economic research that shows increases in the 
minimum wage have lifted pay without hurting employment.
  Americans deserve a raise, and raising the minimum wage will help to 
protect U.S. workers, grow our economy, and build ladders of 
opportunity into the middle class.

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